No grace period for new Bayern coach Heynckes

New Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes could not have asked for a more demanding start to his brief tenure in charge of the champions.

Heynckes, who has taken over from axed coach Juergen
Klinsmann for the remaining five Bundesliga matches, has the
unenviable task of trying to win them all.

His first challenge is to beat relegation-threatened
Borussia Moenchengladbach, Heynckes's former club, on Saturday.

The 63-year-old coached Moenchengladbach for about nine
years after spending 12 years at the club as a striker.

"This is everything but a dream start," the coach told
reporters before his first training on Tuesday. "But Borussia
had sufficient opportunities to get out of that situation."

Bayern are in third place, three points behind leaders VfL
Wolfsburg with their backs against the wall in the defence of
their title after a disappointing season.

Hertha Berlin are a point ahead of Bayern on 55, with
Hamburg SV and VfB Stuttgart level on 54 points.

Heynckes does not have a magic wand but he must somehow
boost Bayern's confidence in a few days after they sank to a 1-0
home defeat against Schalke 04 last week.

Moenchengladbach, on the other hand, are desperate to take
advantage of the turmoil at Bayern to stay in the top flight.
They are second from bottom two points off the safety zone.

"Fact is we have to win our games," Moenchengladbach vice
president Rainer Bonhof said this week.

Bonhof, who played with Heynckes for most of the 1970s at
Moenchengladbach, said the role of underdogs suited them.

"Maybe it is not that bad that we are now chasing the pack,
as we did it so well once before, just after the winter break."

Even if Bayern win they will be hoping Hertha Berlin, who
travel to Hamburg on Sunday, may slip up.

But Hamburg, with an inferior goal difference to Bayern,
have their UEFA Cup semi-final against Werder Bremen to play on
Thursday and could be left drained after a seemingly endless
schedule of matches in the past few months.

Improving Hertha have won their last two games to climb back
into contention for the title but will again be without
suspended striker Andriy Voronin.

Leaders Wolfsburg, whose 10-match winning streak ended with
a surprise defeat at lowly Energie Cottbus last week, host
Hoffenheim, who have not won in 11 matches, on Saturday when
Stuttgart visit third-from-bottom Arminia Bielfeld.